HII figure I have all the EP's I need except a 6mm. I have an 8mm Hyperion and with a barlow it works ok for a planetary view. But I would also like to get a good 6mm planetary EP. I can't afford a neglar. But I am willing to wait until I stumble upon a deal. Anybody have first hand knowledge about this type of EP? Like I said, something to get up close with jupiter and saturn, etc. I wouldn't mind a longer Eye relief. I don't wear glassed by my father and brother do. By the way I say 6mm because I believe 4 or 5 is to small for my scope and I already have a good 8mm. With a barlow and a 6mm will get me to 308x mag which would be pushing it on all but the best nights. TMB, TV plossl, Ultima? others?ThanksPaul

What the Pauls said. 6mm Radian is an excellent choice. I use mine a lot on my 4" refractor; the long eye relief and adjustable eyeguard make it easy to find the perfect position for extended study of planets at the eyepiece. Another option if you can't find a Radian readily would be the Vixen NLV. Similar eye relief, slightly narrower fov, 45°, versus 60° for the Radian. Also slightly cheaper, even new. Many people recommend orthos for planetary, but all the short focal length orthos, plossls, etc. are VERY short on eye relief, require real dedication to view through for any length of time.

I recently picked up 4.5mm and 6.5mm Series 5000 HD-60 eyepieces for planetary viewing, and I have gotten my best views yet of Jupiter through them with my 4 inch refractor. While I haven't used any TV, Pentax, or other best of the best eyepieces, I can say that I have absolutely zero regrets about these Meade eyepieces, and would definitely buy them again. These are replacing my Russell Optics eyepieces as my go-to choices. These run $80 each when purchased new.http://www.meade.com...sories/hd60.php

The Delos is a widefield (72° AFOV) that's optically excellent both on & off-axis, and has globs of eye relief (20mm) & comfort and a really big eye lens (makes for more immersive feel), but it's big & hefty and expensive too; the 82° ES/Meade 6.7mm is smaller, and has a wider field, but it's less than perfect at the edge and has a tighter ER; the TMB-P 6mm is not the sharpest on-axis but has comfortable ER with good correction at edge, though only 58° AFOV; the BCO 6mm is almost as good as the BGO 6mm which has a sterling reputation in the EP community for its on-axis sharpness, but its AFOV is only 40° (50° on the BCO) and has tight ER, although both are small & light too, very easy to handle.

I wrote a review some years back comparing a TMB PII 6mm, Radian 6mm and a volcano top 6mm ortho by Vixen. 'Scopes used were a f/4.5 Newt and a f/11 achro. In both 'scopes and all targets (planets, doubles, DSO) I found the Radian more comfortable (better eye relief, slightly wider FOV) than the TMB, but otherwise they were indistinguishable. My conclusions were that I was unable to justify the expense of the Radian, and so sold the Radian. I still have the TMB PII. If you are made of money, the Radian may help you sleep at night. The volcano top did not fare as well, but I kept it because I prefer it's cooler tone to the TMB and Radian.

hiThanks and I looked for a long while for Radian. I'll keep looking. It doesn't even seem they make the 6mm new any more. maybe in the mean time I will get the fine tuning ring that Bill suggests. How does that work exactly? If anyone has a lead on a Radian 6mm let me know. I'll also keep an eye out for a cheap used BC or BG ortho out of curiosity. I like the idea of the Ring because I like the Hyperion a lot. I never see people talk about them but to me they seem like really good EP's.ThanksPaul

I used to have the full set of Hyperions, and the two fine tuning rings. That was such a fun set being to adjust focal lengths all the time. I would usually decide before going out what focal lengths I wanted then just put the rings on my Hyperions as appropriate.

It is real easy to do. The Hyperion is made so the barrel and bottom plate it is connected to unscrews. When you do this, simply screw the retaining ring onto the body of the Hyperion, then screw the barrel and place assembly back onto the fine tuning ring and you are done. The eyepiece is now physically longer so that the integrated Barlow/Smyth lens in the barrel provides greater magnification to the upper lens assembly.

hi
Thanks and I looked for a long while for Radian. I'll keep looking. It doesn't even seem they make the 6mm new any more. maybe in the mean time I will get the fine tuning ring that Bill suggests. How does that work exactly? If anyone has a lead on a Radian 6mm let me know. I'll also keep an eye out for a cheap used BC or BG ortho out of curiosity.
I like the idea of the Ring because I like the Hyperion a lot. I never see people talk about them but to me they seem like really good EP's.
Thanks
Paul

If you decide on Radian, you may want to read post #6264029 by George Gatsis in this thread. He provided evidences that the newer Radians with the smooth lower housing part have better light transmission. BTW, if I'm not mistaken, the AM classified referred to by Paul (pstarr) above listed the older, knurled version.

I'm with Bill.The 14mm Fine Tuning Ring is just what the doctor ordered.Get the 28mm as well and convert your 8 to a 5mm and 4.3mm as well as a 6mm.The eye relief gets a little tighter, but otherwise, it's neat to be able to get 4 magnifications out of one eyepiece without using a Barlow.

The fine tuning rings are a nice options, but personally I do not like assemble/disassemble my eyepieces in the field.A Baader Classic (or even the amazing 6mm TAL Plossl, which is also cheaper) is, IMHO, the best budget-minded pick.

The Radian has some strong advantages (I undestand that your telescope is undriven) and could be a lifetime eyepiece.

I agree with Hesoid. Not a fun thing to do in the field because of cross-threading, cold hands, etc.

If I were you, I would get a 3.5mm, which will bring you to 261x which can be used on Jupiter and also Saturn and you will be able to get that kind of mag more nights than barlowing a 6mm to 3mm getting you to 308x.

if you don't want to spend too much money, I recommend THIS which is on sale and Don Pensack who runs that company is a very reputable seller who you can trust, and he is an awesome guy.

A Baader Classic (or even the amazing 6mm TAL Plossl, which is also cheaper) is, IMHO, the best budget-minded pick.

How the 6mm BCO compares to the 6.3mm TAL? Contrast, light transmission, scatter control, eye relief? I guess you you've got personal experience with these two. Would be interesting to know your impressions.
Thanks.

Between my 2 samples it is almost a draw. The BCO has a tiny advantage in contrast, transmission and scatter control, a somewhat larger field of view, and is noticeably more comfortable.On the other hand the TAL has a more uniform performance across its entire field (I judge the TAL being the real "orthoscopic" between the 2), and I like very much that feature on Moon and Sun.